> With the old upload-and-forget model of software distribution, you could put a tarball on a free FTP site for a few pennies
You can still create a Digital Ocean droplet, Docker container, or VM Image - and do the same thing (upload & forget). Then it's up to the user to pay $5/mo to host it, a process which doesn't need to take more than a few mouse clicks.
Can you clarify what you are driving at with these questions? First off, a lot of people prefer hosted source repositories other than github (e.g. hub.darcs.net, gitlab.com, My Own Private Server). Github naturally imposes various limitations on their "free" plans.
You can still create a Digital Ocean droplet, Docker container, or VM Image - and do the same thing (upload & forget). Then it's up to the user to pay $5/mo to host it, a process which doesn't need to take more than a few mouse clicks.